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July / August 2006 email.
July / August 2006
Article
Planners and DMCs talk about
each other
In a double-sided survey, GEP asked clients and GEP DMC partners
to talk about their relationship-- good and bad. The survey
produced some interesting contrasts, especially in the area of
costs and pricing. “Basically, clients want more transparency”,
Chris White, GEP/Krisam chairman and CEO explained. “Clients
aren’t necessarily saying they object to the pricing, they just
need to understand it, believe it is fair, and be able to
explain it within their own organization.”
DMCs also want that understanding from clients, including in the
area of what it takes to put a proposal together. If a proposal
is accepted and the DMC gets the business, no problem. However,
if a DMC is one of six or seven being asked to present a
proposal, their odds of getting the job are greatly reduced. So
the costs for the intense time and labor invested to create a
tailored proposal are essentially lost. This concern was clearly
reflected in DMC survey responses.
The clients in the survey were split 50/50 in terms of how many
programs a year they executed with a DMC. Half planned fewer
than 10 a year while half planned 11 or more. Six percent said
they arranged more than 100 programs a year with DMCs.
Here are answers to some of the key questions for the
planners:
What are the top four most
important reasons for using a DMC?
- Knowledge of Destination
- A Trusted Partner in
Planning an Event
- Time Savings
- Creativity
Services clients wish all DMC
partners would provide:
- Meeting Planning Services
including registration, on-site support, meeting supplies,
IT Support
- Standardized Electronic
Proposals & Final Bills
- New Creative Ideas for Room
Gifts & Incentives
- Qualified Staff
- Fluency in the planner’s
Native Language
- Interactive On-Line Dine
Around Registration
- Consolidated Contracts
- Travel Directors for Hire
- Faster Response Time
- VAT Reclaim
The biggest challenges clients
encounter when working with DMCs…
- Cost & Pricing
- Lack of Communication
- Lack of Creativity--want to
see more “out of the box” ideas
- Slow Response Times
- Cultural Differences
- Knowledge of Client’s
Needs/Business
- Consistency between all DMCs
- Issues with Credit Card
Payments
- Value Does Not Justify Cost
of Services
- Lack of Standard Contract
for partners
What is the single most
important factor you consider when deciding whether or not to
work with a particular DMC?
- Relationship with DMC: 43%
- Price: 21%
- Reputation: 18%
- Creativity: 6%
- Other: 13%
The greatest challenges in
working with a DMC to arrange events outside of the U.S.:
- Response Time
- Communication
- Culture Differences (Time,
Currency, Language)
- Difficulty Developing
Relationships
- Trust/Confidence
- Understanding Needs of U.S.
Companies
Now the GEP DMC Partners speak
out:
Biggest challenges you encounter when working with meeting
professionals…
- Unrealistic expectations of
turnaround time
- Budget Constraints
- Pricing Issues (Price over
Value)
- Last Minute Changes &
Requests
- Shopping and then going
Direct
- Lack of Information to
provide qualified response
- Procurement
- Lack of Communication
- Lack of Understanding of the
DMC business
- Third Parties
- Competition
The top issues that you wish
the DMC industry, as an whole, could make progress on...
- Charging for Detailed
Proposals & Research
- Meeting Professional
Education--communicate a better understanding of the value
of a DMC
- Standardized Proposals,
Pricing & Contracts
- How to meet the Meeting
Professional’s Timing Demands
- Respect of DMCs within the
Industry
- Transparency
- Cost Plus Pricing
- Government Taxing on
Services Provided
If there was one item about
your work as a DMC that you wish clients could understand
better, what would it be?
- Overall understanding of the
TIME and LABOR involved in doing business
- Expense & Time invested in
Proposal Writing & Program Execution
- The True Value of a
DMC-creativity, services, experience, knowledge
- We are working for THEM!
- DMC Pricing for Services
Last year The Event Insider
published a presentation on
the whys and wherefores of DMC pricing. If you haven’t seen
it, take a look.
The survey was taken as part of the registration for the 2006
GEP Summit held in June in Salzburg, Austria. The results were
presented at the Summit and sparked a lively discussion. Your
thoughts on working with DMCs are most welcome. Send them to:
newsletter@theventinsider.com.
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